The baseball brackets for Class 3A and 4A are out, and a trio of area teams get at least two home games on their road to state.
In Class 3A District 9, Washington will have to go on the road to face Solon, who is the top seed and the host site for all of District 9. The other district semifinal is Mount Vernon vs. Clear Creek-Amana, which kicks off the doubleheader at 5 PM on July 15th.
In that sister district, District 10, Fairfield will be hosting their way through district play if they continue to win. The Trojans face Fort Madison in the semifinals, with the other semi being Mount Pleasant vs. Keokuk in an All-Southeast Conference district bracket. Mount Pleasant and Keokuk will play at 5 PM to start the double-dip on the 15th. District finals will be played on July 18th at 7 PM.
The winners of those two districts will meet in Washington on July 20th at 7 PM with a trip to state on the line.
In Class 3A District 11, Oskaloosa is the top team, and they will host Grinnell in the finale of a doubleheader in Osky on July 15th. The first semifinal will be Williamsburg vs. South Tama County. Oskaloosa will host the district final on July 18th at 7 PM regardless of who will be playing.
That sister district features #5 Pella, who faces Newton in their first district game in the back end of that doubleheader. Knoxville and Chariton square off in the first game at 5 PM on July 15th. The district final is at 7 PM on July 18th.
This potentially sets up a rematch in the Substate 6 Final on the very same field that Pella and Osky battled for state last year. Pella was the victor in that contest, and will have the home-field advantage if they make it to the substate final. Winner of that game, as they did last year, will qualify for the state baseball tournament at Principal Park in Des Moines. That game is on July 20th at 7 PM. Pella is 2-1 against Oskaloosa this season, but have not thrown ace Grant Judkins in any of the three games.
Ottumwa is the lone Class 4A team in the area, and they have to go on the road to face Indianola in the first round of Substate 6. That game is on July 15th at 7 PM. After the three substate games, the highest seeded team will receive a bye, and the other two will battle on a field to be determined to get to the substate final.
We will have continuing coverage of all of the area’s score on radiokmzn.com, and will be broadcasting the Oskaloosa baseball games on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, the KMZN mobile app, and radiokmzn.com.
